The Midsouth Association of Independent Schools is a consortium of schools in Mississippi, Tennessee, Louisiana and Arkansas. It is responsible for accreditation of its member private schools as well as governing athletic competition for its member schools. The organization also operates two other organizations, the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools Educational Association and the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools Coaches Association.
History
Then named the Mississippi Private School Association, it was founded in 1968 as an accrediting agency for segregation academies. Many of those schools no longer exist and many today have minorities enrolled and are accredited by other bodies such as the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. In July 2009, the organization changed its name to the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools, and in 2019 changed it again to the Midsouth Association of Independent Schools to reflect the inclusion of schools in Arkansas, Alabama, Louisiana, and Tennessee. Accreditation by a private agency such as the MAIS gives schools flexibility, for example choice of menus and curriculum. Schools may reject federal Common Core State standards. Schools not complying with Blaine Amendment provisions may also forego state aid available to private schools.
Historian Joseph Crespino has stated that members of the White Citizens' Council "doubtless" played a role in the founding of the Association. Sociologist Kenneth Andrews says that the MPSA built "on the earlier foundation of the Citizens' Council and the Council School Foundation."
Classification
The MAIS, until 2019, were under five classifications in which Academy AAAA represented the largest of the private schools while the 8-man league represented the smallest schools. In 2019, due to several smaller schools dropping down to 8-man football, the MAIS did a radical change in its classification. Under the new plan, which was unveiled in May 2019, the MAIS will have six classes like that of its public school counterpart, the Mississippi High School Activities Association. Class 6A would consist of a single district of the six largest private schools in the MAIS: Jackson Prep, Jackson Academy, Madison-Ridgeland Academy, Parklane Academy, Oak Forest Academy in Louisiana, and Presbyterian Christian School. The other 50 schools that support 11-man football were then divided as thus: the top third would be Class 5A, the middle third as Class 4A, and the remaining 11-man football schools would be Class 3A. The 8-man schools, 28 in number, were then divided into Class 2A and Class 1A.
